


this time

by glitch_writes



Category: AI: The Somnium Files (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:14:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26356309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glitch_writes/pseuds/glitch_writes
Summary: Parallel universes weren't real.But if—if—they were...What would Pewter change?
Relationships: Okiura Renju/Pewter | Amanoma Futa
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	this time

**Author's Note:**

> for the "psyncin in the zaine" zine! i'm still suprisedpikachu.jpg that i got to be a part of it

“Do you believe in parallel universes?” 

Pewter’s not one to lie- well, not about this, at least. Not about his beliefs, or science, or any other undeniable truths. 

But for Renju, he’s tempted. 

Tempted to tell him that there’s a reality out there where they’re just like this: arms wrapped around each other on Renju’s bed, but the closet where they haphazardly toss their jackets in is free of skeletons. A universe where the ghosts of Renju’s past are nothing more than bad dreams, echoes so faint that not even the Psync Machine can pick them up. 

Tempted... but just barely. 

Instead, it’s because he loves Renju that he doesn’t deny it - would never deny him anything, be it a truth or a request, no matter how severe. “No. They’re nothing more than a theory that people cling to for comfort.” He brushes a stray bang from Renju’s forehead to better see his eyes - captivating brown, despite the hue of disappointment. “Even if they were real, it would have no bearing on our reality. Any stories that say otherwise are fictional nonsense.”

“If you could, though…” Renju’s voice is not so much ‘soft’ as it is… distant. Far away, no doubt journeying with his mind to fictional worlds where his regrets don’t include a bodycount. “If you could tell ‘you’ in another universe anything, what would it be?” 

He thinks, but not for long, because fictional or not, it wouldn’t matter. “Nothing. If I got a message from some alternate me, I wouldn’t believe it. I’d think it’s someone playing an elaborate prank.” Aiba, mostly likely. A better question would be: if Aiba played a prank on him, would it count as pranking himself, in some roundabout way? Food for thought for another day; right now is about indulging Renju, no matter how fictional the scenario. “What about you? What would you tell yourself?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think… I don’t think there’s anything I could say that would help. Maybe…” His mind travels more, to wherever he stores the secrets he won’t tell even Pewter, but Pewter knows. He sees it in his eyes, every time. 

“Whatever it is you say, make sure to add to go to Marble on March 14th, 2015.”

Renju’s face finally softens, scrunched eyebrows easing, with the faintest tilt of his lips. “Should I say why?” 

“No need.” Pewter takes Renju’s hand in his. “I’m positive we’ll always fall for each other.” Another undeniable truth.

  
  


Parallel universes aren't real.

But if— _ if _ —they were, Pewter considers as he sips his drink, gazing at the painting of Saint Sebastian over the rim of his glass… That would mean there's universes where he and Renju never met. 

He doesn't like that possibility. 

It's for the better that reality and time are linear, even if the past is cruel. Though, he supposes, it's easier for him to say that. His slate isn't exactly clean either, but in comparison… Well. There's not much sense in thinking about what they can't change either way. Like the hands on the golden watch wrapped with a bow in his pocket, they can only go forward.

...Right?

“Sorry I’m late. Shoko called.” Renju takes a seat beside him at the bar, nodding to Mama before she turns to prepare his usual. “I hope I didn’t leave you waiting long…” He cocks his head, a curious spark in his eyes. “What are you thinking about? You have that look, like you’re working on some equation.” 

“I was wondering how I’d send a message to an alternate universe—if they were real.” The Psync Machine, perhaps? Dreams were doors to miraculous possibilities, and the Psync Machine was the key. What if they’d only scratched the surface, what if there were doors unimaginable it could unlock as well? 

“You’re still thinking about that?” It’s cute, honestly, the way Renju’s eyes grow wide when he’s pleasantly surprised - as though the boyish youth he never got to truly enjoy sneaks out while the irresponsibly responsible part of him is distracted. “You were so adamant there wasn’t a possibility.” 

Pewter’s long since made it a priority to surprise him as often as possible. “It’s food for thought.” 

When Renju’s drink arrives, they toast. Toast to meeting at this spot one year and three months ago. Toast to a year since their first date, a celebration that’ll continue into the night long after they leave Marble. Toast to Renju’s intoxicatingly soft smile when he asked Pewter out with a strange—and yet, fitting—confession:  _ “Because you’re an unusual man.” _

Renju is an unusual man himself, Pewter reflects as Renju laughs and holds his hand tightly as they stumble out of the bar. 

He would do anything for him. Break the laws of society and science for him. 

  
  


The thing about parallel universes is that, as a kid, Pewter didn’t believe dreams were real, either.

He never remembered his own—still doesn’t, despite his line of work. And the stories people spoke of their dreams were so abstract, so ridiculous, that he assumed they were poor attempts to intrigue his young, naive mind. It wasn’t until he read about them in a book in grade school that he even began to consider there was a shred of legitimacy to the tales. 

If dreams were real after all, then maybe… 

Maybe that wasn’t all he’s been wrong about. 

It’s been, what, three years now since he spoke about parallel universes with Renju? He can’t recall any mention of it since their first anniversary, the concept long since forgotten after he placed the watch around Renju’s wrist and told him he was grateful for their linear timeline together. 

But it’s what comes to mind when he wakes up from the first dream he’s ever remembered. 

It was like he’s witnessed on the monitor whenever Date Psynced with someone. Nonsensical chaos that somehow made perfect sense when he was standing in it, but the coherency and details alike fade swiftly as he wakes at his desk, alone in the room with only the Psync Machine to greet him. 

The centerpiece of the dream, though. The centerpiece is horrifically clear in his mind, a sharp image that cuts into his chest. 

It was Shoko. 

Except, it wasn’t. 

It was  _ her _ corpse.  _ Her _ hands tied behind  _ her _ back, a hole where  _ her _ left eye should have been. 

But he knew, somehow throughout the nonsense he  _ knew _ it wasn’t her, just  _ knew _ it was— 

His phone’s ring pulls his attention away. 

_ “I’ll be late tonight. Shoko wants me to meet up with her.”  _

There’s nothing unusual about that. Well, mostly; she hadn’t spoken to Renju much the past year. But still, there was plenty she could need to talk to him about. A child, for starters, not that either of them made for great parents. 

And the dream was just that. A dream. 

Except… dreams weren’t  _ just _ dreams. Not since the Psync Machine. 

If there was ever a reason to defy everything he knew about reality, to do everything imaginable—and even unimaginable—to send an impossible message… 

“Renju, could you cancel on her? Just for tonight?” 

_ “...Is everything alright? I mean, yes, I can, it’s just… you’re not one to ask for things like that.” _

“Everything’s fine.” At least, everything will be fine, this time. “Renju… Do you believe in parallel universes?” 


End file.
